March Reads

After a busy February, the bookworm in me was so excited to dedicate more time to reading in March. This worked out perfectly because our March in the Upper Peninsula was gloomy and cold. Perfect reading weather! I was able to add three more books to my 2017 Goodreads Reading Challenge. This months reads had a variety of different topics, which made it a fun month of reading.

My first read of the month was The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. This book first caught my eye while scanning the book aisle at Target. Does anyone else love their selection?! It’s my favorite place to look for new releases. I had really high hopes for The Underground Railroad, but was a bit disappointed. The main character, Cora, is a slave on a plantation in the south. Though life is hard for all slaves, hers is particularly hard. When given the opportunity to escape with a friend named Caesar, Cora takes it. Their destination is The Underground Railroad where they hope they will be taken far away to a life of “freedom”. This book takes history and puts a fictional twist on The Underground Railroad by making it an actual engineered system operated by rail cars. The railway system takes Cora to cities where she experiences life in society, all the meanwhile being chased by a slave catcher. The historical aspect of this book was really interesting; however, I had a hard time connecting to the characters. Maybe this is how you are supposed to feel when reading this book. I can’t help but wonder if the author didn’t build the descriptive detail in the characters because you are not supposed to relate to them, but rather focus on the historical aspect of the story and the horrible things they had to endure. I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars.

The Girls by Emma Cline was my second read for March. I’m not going to lie; this book took me a while to pick up. The eerie plot description had me a bit nervous to read it. The Girls takes you into the life of the main character, Evie Boyd, an impressionable young teenager who is growing up in Northern California at the end of the 1960’s. This was an era of free love, drugs, and rock & roll. It was commonly an era where children and teenagers were unsupervised and left to their own devices. This unfortunately leads Evie into a dark path of a cult made up of young women and their infamous male cult leader. I could not put this book down because the entire time I was hoping that the main character would make the right decision and run home to her parents and just be an innocent teenager. Despite flying through this book, I did have a hard time reading it at points, as it’s very descriptive and some of the scenarios are a bit unfathomable. If you’re looking for a read that sucks you in, I recommend it. If you have weak stomach, this may not be the read for you. I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars.

My final read for March was A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. If you have not read this book, drop everything you’re doing and read it right now. This is a classic American novel about a young girl growing up in the 1920’s. A Tree Grows In Brooklyn is a coming of age novel, with the focus on the main character, Francie Nolan, growing up in the neighboring slums of Brooklyn. Francie is such a likable main character, and I instantly felt connected to her story. She is a smart and sweet young girl who loves school, reading, and most of all, her family. This was a book that I kept thinking about long after I finished reading it. Like I said earlier, add this to your reading list if you haven’t yet. I gave this book a 5 out of 5 and it may be a contender for my top 5 reads of this year.

Col, I absolutely LOVEEEEEEE A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I fell in love instantly. It’s such a great coming of age story and I’m not sure why they don’t make it a mandatory read in HS these days. Francie is so love-able and relatable ❤

Thank you, Vivienne. I made it one of my new years resolutions to start reading more and I’m absolutely loving it. The Goodreads website/app has a really fun challenge that you can set a goal for how many books you want to read in the year of 2017. I have a goal of 30, so far I have read 11 🙂

these have been on my goodreads tbr for awhile now and I am glad to have stumbled on this blog and read your opinions,, I was recommended The Girls because I am a fan of Janet Fitch (White Oleander and Paint it Black) and now I am even more curious about the book. happy reading!

About Me

My name is Colleen Posey. A Chicago girl at heart, The Upper Peninsula of Michigan has become my new home where I live with my new husband, Ben. In my free time you will most likely find me whipping up a family favorite recipe, sewing, quilting, and working on our new home.